Quick carb job?

[wentsj28]

Hey everyone,

I'm sure that there are lots if posts about this already, but here goes:

I have 10 gallons of pale ale that I am going to keg today. I need them to be ready by August 2nd. Is there anything I can do (eg: set a higher pressure on my air tank) to get them to a nice bubbly state in this short amount if time? Or is 10 days at about 12 psi good enough?

 

[Hello]

You keg and you have until August 2nd? Hook that bad boy up to gas at 10-12 PSI and walk away. You'll be well carbonated by 8/2.

 

[wentsj28]

Thanks. I appreciate it! Should I bring the kegs to temperature before I hook up the gas? or can I do it all at once?

 

[b-boy]

Hook them right up. No need to wait for the kegs to cool.

 

[thehijjt]

You can do it all at once. It won't soak much in until it gets down to temperature.

 

[billl]

You should be fine with the set-it-and-forget-it method in that timeframe. If you get close to the date and aren't quite to the level you want, you can always turn the pressure up for a couple hours for a little extra boost.

 

[wentsj28]

You should be fine with the set-it-and-forget-it method in that timeframe. If you get close to the date and aren't quite to the level you want, you can always turn the pressure up for a couple hours for a little extra boost.

What do you recommend as far as psi? 15? 20?

 

[day_trippr]

The proper pressure for the "set and forget" method is temperature dependent, plus there's a dependency on your desired carbonation level (eg: stouts are traditionally carbed low in the 2 volumes of CO2 range, pales and ipas (and a whole lot of other styles) are carbed "in the middle" around 2.5 volumes of CO2, and german wheats and saisons and others are carbed high at 3 volumes or higher.

Refer to our favorite carbonation table, find your beer temperature on the Y-axis at the left, scan across that row to your desired carbonation level, then scan up that column to find the ideal gas pressure to use. And if you change the beer temperature at some point (for instance, you carb "warm" then chill to dispense) you need to likewise adjust the gas pressure to maintain the same volumes of CO2.

Allow two weeks under pressure to reach a "good" state of carbonation, and another week to be "perfect"...

Cheers!

 

[FrozenOcean]

Try chucking some pop rocks in there. I heard that can work.

 

[billl]

What do you recommend as far as psi? 15? 20?

Obviously, this isn't an exact science. 30psi for 24 hrs will go from "not carbed" to "fully carbed" at fridge temps. In my experience, 20psi for 8 hrs will take "close" up to "fully carbed". Of course, those are subjective observations and also depend on temps.

If you are completely scrambling and will be home for some time today, I'd turn it up to 30psi and just check it every 2 hours or so (eg vent, turn the pressure down to 5psi, pour a little) Repeat until you get the level you want and then return it to your normal serving pressure eg 10-12.

If you aren't going to be home to monitor it, I'd turn it up to 20psi when you go to bed and test it in the morning.

If you accidentally overshoot, there really isn't much time to correct it. The only thing you could do is try venting it a couple times and then use a lower serving pressure to keep the foaming to a minimum.

 

[BigPerm]

If you're really in a crunch for time, there is a faster way. I will hook mine up to 30 PSI at room tem, evacuate the headspace a couple of times, and then sit and rock the keg for 5 minutes. One chilled to serving temps, it should be fully carbed. I like to give it at least a few hours to settle down after chilling before tapping (overnight, ideally).

In your case now though, bumping up to 20 psi for a few hours should get you where you're going.

 

[wentsj28]

If you're really in a crunch for time, there is a faster way. I will hook mine up to 30 PSI at room tem, evacuate the headspace a couple of times, and then sit and rock the keg for 5 minutes. One chilled to serving temps, it should be fully carbed. I like to give it at least a few hours to settle down after chilling before tapping (overnight, ideally).



In your case now though, bumping up to 20 psi for a few hours should get you where you're going.

Thanks. Yeah, it's been carving for approx 2 weeks, but I know transporting is going to lose some CO2, plus it could use just a bit to more. I'll set it 20 for the night tonight.

 

[Jacinthebox]

you really shouldn't lose co2 unless you have a leak....warm or cold its trapped inside of the keg